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We Salute
the Great Farmers of India
for their Bold Contributions and Cooperation
Towards the Technology-led Growth of Indian Agriculture
Crop science research in the country has played key role
in ushering
Green Revolution during the 1960-70’s, and
Yellow Revolution during the 1980-90’s.
Whereas ICAR is at the forefront,
Crop Science Division is at
core of such activities.
Set up
The Division has 10 national institutes including one deemed-to-be-university, 2 bureaus, 6 project directorates, 7 national research centres, 22 all-India coordinated research projects, and 9 all-India network projects. Besides, it administers a large number of revolving fund schemes and national research networks, and facilitates the technical clearance of externally funded projects.
Located
at the ICAR Headquarters, the Division has six commodity/subject-specific
technical Sections, namely, (i) Food and Fodder Crops, (ii) Oilseeds and
Pulses, (iii) Commercial Crops, (iv) Seeds, (v) Plant Protection, and (vi)
Intellectual Property Rights. Each Section is headed by an Assistant Director
General (ADG). Three Principal Scientists assist the middle level management
and technical backstopping of various scientific/technical matters whereas an
Under Secretary (Crop Science) is responsible for internal Administration
matters in the Division.
Thrust Areas
- Harnessing conventional and modern scientific knowledge, tools, and cutting-edge of science for development of improved crop varieties/hybrids suited to diverse agro-ecologies and situations, and efficient, economic, eco-friendly and sustainable crop production and protection technologies; promoting excellence in basic, strategic and anticipatory crop science research.
- Refinement of seed-production technologies and production of breeder seed with added emphasis on hybrid cultivars.
- Conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources of plants, insects and other invertebrates, and agriculturally important microorganisms.
- Providing knowledge-intensive advisory and consultancy in crop-science.
Achievements
- Developed and released nearly 3,300 high-yielding varieties/hybrids of field crops for different agro-ecologies; facilitated verification and identification of technologies under the country-wide, synergistic network of All India Coordinated Projects; these outputs ushered in the eras of green and yellow revolutions in mid1960s and mid-1990s, respectively; national average productivity raised by 2-4 folds in foodgrains, rapeseed-mustard and cotton since 1950-51.
- First in the world to develop hybrids in grain pearl millet and cotton in the 1970s; also developed hybrids in other crops, including non-conventional crops, such as castor, safflower, rice, pigeonpea and rapeseed-mustard; developed single cross hybrids in quality protein maize (QPM) and baby corn for high nutritional value in addition to high yield.
- Employed genes for stress resistance and quality in several crops from their wild relatives; developed early and suitable plant types for new niche areas and cropping systems in pulses and other crops; evolved effective male sterility systems for hybrid development in many crops.
- For the first time, successfully employed molecular marker assisted selection/pyramiding and backcross transfer of 'xa13 , and 'Xa21 , genes from IRBB55 in the genetic background of Pusa Basmati 1; thus developed bacterial blast resistant variety Improved Pusa Basmati 1.
- Developed Bt-cotton for resistance to bollworms using an indigenous variety Bikaneri Narma; developed ready-to-use diagnostic kits to detect Bt-cotton and non-Bt cotton.
- Identified and isolated a gene conferring male sterility in mustard that is useful for hybrid development in other crops; developed a SCAR marker for fertility restorer gene.
- Cloned and characterized a gene 'Pi-Kh' that confers resistance to Blast disease; validated the gene in transgenic rice.
- Identification of novel Arabidopsis- derived promoter that drives constitutive expression of foreign genes in transgenic plants.
- Isolated and cloned drought stress responsive transcription factors 'TaCBF5' and 'TaCBF9' from drought tolerant wheat variety C-306.
- Sequenced 6.7 million base pairs of long-arm of chromosome 11 of rice in a major global effort.
- DNA fingerprinting in 33 major crops; fingerprinted 2215 released varieties and landraces.
- Conserved over 346,000 germplasm accessions of crops and their wild relatives at NBPGR, New Delhi, and 2517 microorganism cultures (394 bacterial, 2077 fungal, 36 Actinomycetes and 10 yeast accessions) at NBAIM, Mau; digitalized database of over 175,000 insect species at IARI, New Delhi.
- Established a mechanism of registration and documentation of potentially valuable plant germplasm at NBPGR, New Delhi; registered 482 accessions belonging to 77 plant species.
- Developed the bioinsecticide strain DOR Bt-l, registered and commercialized its formulation KNOCK W.P. along with a low-cost mass multiplication methodology for integrated management of semilooper caterpillar in a number of crops; developed endosulfan-tolerant strain of Trichogramma chilonis (Endograma); deployed Pest Management Information System including Interactive Kiosks for Basmati rice, cotton, mustard, chickpea and groundnut.
- Digitalized extant-notified varieties database using Indian Information System (INDUS) software; developed DUS test parameters for 35 crops for Indian conditions.
- Doubled the seed production of improved varieties in a year amounting to 606,000 quintals during 2006-07 through a mega seed project; thus enhanced the transfer of released varieties for cultivation
Kiwi fruit Actindia chinensis: A commercially successful introduction in the recent past.
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Multipurpose equipment planting Sugarcane |
Intercropping of pigeonpea with sorghum reduces biotic stresses like wilt incidence and nematode population |
International rice genome sequencing consortium: India shares responsibility for chromosome 11. (Country shares of sequencing rice chromosomes are flagged) |
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DSH 129: the first safflower hybrid, released in 1997 for commercial cultivation in both irrigated and rainfed situations; hybrid technology in safflower led to crop productivity increase by almost two folds. |
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Institutional Links
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Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur, Maharashtra
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Central
Research Institute for Jute & Allied Fibres, (CRIJAF), Kolkata, West
Bengal
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Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), Cuttack, Orissa
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Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI), Rajahmundri, Andhra Pradesh
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Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa, New
Delhi
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Indian Grassland Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI), Jhansi,
Uttar Pradesh
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Indian
Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
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Indian
Institute of Sugarcane Research (IISR), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
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Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI), Coimbatore, Tamilnadu
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Vivekanand Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS)
Almora, Uttaranchal
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National Bureau of
Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi
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National Bureau of Agriculturally Important
Micro-Organisms (NBAIM), Uttar Pradesh
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National Centre for
Integrated Pest Management (NCIPM), New Delhi
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National Research
Centre for Groundnut (NRCG), Junagadh, Gujarat
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National
Research Centre for Rapeseed Mustard (NRC-RM), Bharatpur, Rajasthan
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National Research Centre on Sorghum
(NRC-Sorghum), Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh
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National Research Centre for Soybean
(NRC-Soybean), Indore, Madhya
Pradesh
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National Research
Centre on Plant Bio-Technology (NRC-PB), New Delhi
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National
Research Centre on DNA Fingerprinting (NRC-DNAF), New Delhi
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National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects (Formerly Project Directorate of Biological Control ), Bengaluru, Karnataka
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Directorate of
Oilseed Research (DOR), Hyderabad, Andhra
Pradesh
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Directorate
of Rice Research (DRR), Hyderabad, Andhra
Pradesh
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Directorate of Maize Research (DMR), New Delhi
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Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR), Karnal, Haryana
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Directorate of Seed Research, Mau Nath Bhanjan, Uttar Pradesh
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All India
Coordinated Research Projects/ All India
Network Projects
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All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Agricultural Acarology, UAS, Bangalore, Karnataka
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AICRP on Arid Legumes, RAU, Bikaner,
Rajasthan
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AICRP on Wheat, DWR, Karnal, Haryana
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AICRP on Barley, DWR, Karnal, Haryana
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AICRP on Castor, DOR, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh
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AICRP on Chickpea, IIPR, Kanpur,
Uttar Pradesh
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AICRP on Cotton, Regional Research Centre CICR,
Coimbatore, Tamilnadu
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AICRP on Forage Crops, IGFRI, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh
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AICRP on Groundnut, NRC Groundnut, Junagadh,
Gujarat
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AICRP on Jute & Allied Fibres, CRIJAF,
Kolkata, West Bengal
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AICRP on Honeybees, Division of Zoology, CCS
Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana
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AICRP on Linseed, CSA
University of Agriculture &
Technology, Kanpur, Uttar
Pradesh
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AICRP on Maize, DMR, IARI Campus, New
Delhi
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AICRP on Small Millets, UAS, GKVK Campus, Bangalore,
Karnataka
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AICRP on Plant Parasitic Nematodes, Division of Nematology, IARI, Pusa, New Delhi
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AICRP on MULLaRP, IIPR, Kanpur,
Uttar Pradesh
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AICRP on NSP, Division of Seed Science &
Technology, IARI, Pusa, New Delhi
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AICRP on Pearl Millet, Agricultural Research
Station, Mandore, Jodhpur,
Rajasthan
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AICRP on Pesticide Residues, Division of Agricultural Chemicals, IARI, Pusa, New Delhi
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AICRP on Pigeonpea, IIPR, Kanpur,
Uttar Pradesh
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AICRP on Rapeseed & Mustard, Sewar Farm,
Distt. Bharatpur, Rajasthan
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AICRP on Rodent Control, CAZRI, Jodhpur,
Rajasthan
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AICRP on Safflower, DOR, Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh
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AICRP on Sesame & Niger, JNKVV, Jabalpur,
Madhya Pradesh
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AICRP on Sorghum, NRC Sorghum,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh
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AICRP on Soybean, NRC Soybean, Indore,
Madhya Pradesh
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AICRP on Sugarcane, IISR, Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh
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AICRP on Sunflower, UAS, GKVK Campus, Bangalore
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All India
Network Project (AINP) on Agricultural Ornithology, ANGRAU
Veterinary College,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh
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AINP on Underutilized Crops, NBPGR, Pusa, New
Delhi
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AINP on Tobacco, CTRI, Rajahmundri, Hyderabad
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AINP on Whitegrubs and Soil Arthropods, RAU,
ARS, Durgapura, Rajasthan
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